2013 Extreme Marketing Predicitions

19 Marketers Look Into The Future

Before we dive into the ho-hum forecasts of 2013, here are extreme predictions that go beyond the conventional trends of the past few years. The goal is to capture the thinking of marketing experts that can be conveyed via a smartphone. We started this tradition last year with twenty-four experts giving their 2012 predictions.

Here are the extreme predictions of nineteen marketing experts, a majority of whom have contributed useful books on the range of marketing topics.

Yahoo acquires both Pinterest and Tumblr and rolls up Flickr into its new image-driven division, bolstered by another acquisition of Luminate to sell ads overlayed on those images. David Berkowitz – 360i, @DBerkowitz

First thoughts were Twitter and Pinterest both get bought and Flickr closes it’s doors. Not sure if all three of those will happen, but I’d bet on at least one of them coming true. C.C. Chapman, @cc_chapman. Author of Amazing Things Will Happen

My most extreme marketing prediction? More a hope really, but I would love to see print advertising revitalized by out-of-the-box thinking. It CAN be measured. It CAN be effective. There is no reason it cannot coexist with newer marketing tactics. Marjorie Clayman – Clayman Marketing Communications, @MargieClayman

While social media, content marketing and search continue to be the dominant trends of 2013, the following four extreme developments occur: Facebook loses its sheen as the dominant must-have social media entity due to missteps, Google continues to exert its quiet strength through a combination of search, Google+ and mobile, Amazon emerges as a social media, content giant with a large housefile that also creates connected devices and, lastly, Yahoo is able to stop its losses and lays the seeds for future growth led by Flickr. Heidi Cohen – Riverside Marketing Strategies, @HeidiCohen

My most extreme marketing prediction for 2013 is that the status quo will continue for many companies. Advertising budgets move to the digital, web and social, but Super Bowl ads cost more than ever. Corporations grow large audiences on Facebook, but struggle to understand the value of their fans and relate that to the rest of their business. Even CMOs, while looking to increase their social media budgets, do not feel prepared to marketing through social media. Jeffrey L. Cohen – Salesforce Marketing Cloud (Radian 6), @JeffreyLCohen. Co-author of The B2B Social Media Book

I’m really interested to see how native advertising begins to blur the communications, marketing, advertising lines even more as content becomes the vehicle for a company’s messages. Gini Dietrich – Arment Dietrich, Inc., @GiniDietrich. Co-author of Marketing in the Round

I don’t think we’re going to see extreme steps. We’re in the front end still of one of the biggest communications revolution of the past few hundred years, but the changes now will be about brands developing best practices, sound case studies, and improvable processes. The big social media platforms still have plenty of elbow room for innovation, and those innovations will keep the momentum going. Ric Dragon – Dragon Search, @RicDragon. Author of Social Marketology

THIS is the year of MOBILE. No, seriously. I really mean it this time…. : ) Ann Handley – MarketingProfs, @MarketingProfs. Co-Author with C.C. Chapman of Content Rules

My extreme prediction is that there will be more extreme predictions around mobile in 2013. I’m still shaking my head over the Experian prediction from late this year that 50 percent of the marketing spend in 2017 will be for mobile programs. Not only is that crazy, its level of hype does a disservice to those of us trying to grow the channel dollar by dollar. Jeff Hasen – Hipcricket, @JeffHasen. Author of Mobilized Marketing

My most extreme marketing prediction for 2013 is that Google will buy Twitter, in an effort to drive social following Google+’s failure. Twitter, still struggling to monetize as fast as they would’ve liked, will welcome the sale as it will allow them to better accomplish their vision. Dave Kerpen – Likeable Media, @davekerpen. Author of Likeable Businessand Likeable Social Media

Media buying will become a skill more marketers will have to become comfortable with. Between sponsored posts, native advertising, and other forms of owned and earned media leeching into paid, media buying won’t be something reserved for agencies anymore. PR firms will have to learn to do it, as will in-house marketers. Rebecca Lieb – Altimeter Group, @lieblink. Author of Content Marketing and The Truth About Search Engine Optimization

Extreme: Blackberry makes a comeback, less Extreme: Content marketing will really been seen as important function with dedicated resources, rather than something tasked to PR and SEO teams. Many will fail, but those that will succeed will build real loyalty among its consumers. With so many choices out there for EVERYTHING, what consumers want is only another click away. Jon Mandell –1-800-Flowers.com, @JonMandell

Amazon will become a major marketing partner in 2013. The retailing giant is often ignored as a key strategic partner except for those online retailers who consider Amazon to be a major retail outlet. Forrester, a research firm, estimates that 30% of U.S. online shoppers begin their search for a product at Amazon. Understanding how to partner with and market using Amazon’s products and services will be a key priority for marketers, especially as aggregators with great mobile experiences deliver more performance for brands. Daina Middleton – Performics. Author of Marketing in the Participation Age

2013 will be the re-boom of “web” and the fall of “mobile”. After all, what is “mobile” anyhow? The dividing line from desktops has been dissolved by portable mini computers, WiFi, and telecommunications software. Prepare to experience the web from car mirrors, window displays, wristwatches, home appliances and more! The number of devices, screen sizes, and capabilities to design and test for will exponentially increase. Companies embracing and innovating responsive design will have a competitive advantage while those disregarding the ubiquitous web will be left behind. Angie Schottmuller –Search Engine Watch, @aschottmuller

Not sure if this is extreme, but I expect podcasting consumption to double in 2013. Start your podcast engines folks! Opportunity ahead…Michael Stelzner – Social Media Examiner, @MikeStelzner. Author of Launch

People will stop seeing responsive design as a one-size-fits-all solution to web design and search engine optimization (SEO). Responsive design evangelists need to accommodate more non-human users. And they need to quit ignoring known searcher behaviors. I really, really do understand the pros and cons of (and alternatives to) responsive design. I am just dumbfounded that my colleagues and I still have to convince organizations worldwide to not forget to accommodate what Danny Sullivan has often called the “third browser”: search engines. Shari Thurow – Omni Marketing Interactive, @ShariThurow. Author of When Search Meets Web Usability

While the dominant trends of 2012 will continue into 2013, it’s interesting to see how different members of the marketing community view the near future. One thing’s for certain, there’ll be something unexpected that’s not on the horizon that comes seemingly out of nowhere like Pinterest did in 2012.

Hi Heidi – Here’s my big prediction – 2013 will be the year marketers leverage transparency and scalability. As cause marketing efforts grow, marketers will realize that they must deliver on their promise, regardless of their direct return on investment. This will lead marketers to develop campaigns where the details are open and designed to succeed at any scale.

Back when you asked me I thought Flickr was dead for sure, but with the Instagram miss step and the changes they’ve made with extending free premium accounts and the updated app I don’t think they are going anywhere but up this year.

I think you’re right about Twitter. I can’t understand why investors keep pouring money into them without an ROI on their cash. They have to get bought or this is the year they finally figure out how to make money.